Chapter 39: Helping the Mariners

Although the newly arrived elves are made welcome by the Mariners, there’s no denying that the extra residents are placing a strain on the fresh water supply. The water from the estuary, and the flat swampy area beyond, is salty and unsafe to drink. That leaves a small tributary river that cascades into the estuary from the north as the nearest source of potable water. Replenishing the settlement’s four large cisterns with drinking water requires a daily trip to the river by a barge laden with water barrels. It’s a tedious task that is shared among Tewhanga’s long term residents. However, the Mariners haven’t always filled their cisterns in this fashion.

“There’s an old aqueduct from the river to the settlement, but several sections are blocked by vegetation,” says AN332 on returning with several other adolescent elves after taking their turn transporting water from the barge to the cisterns.

I ask Marianne about the aqueduct. She confirms that it fell into disuse when trade along the rivers decreased, and many of the Mariners moved away from Tewhanga. That was nearly eighty years ago. It was easier for the remaining Mariners to make a daily trip by barge to fetch water, than to keep the aqueduct functioning. With many of the newly arrived elves working on unimportant tasks, some of them suggest devoting time and effort towards clearing the obstructions in the aqueduct.

Fortunately a couple of Mariners have the appropriate masonry skills to assess whether the aqueduct’s stonework is still fit for purpose. There would be little point in clearing away all the obstructions in the channel if the stonework is too damaged to retain the flow of water. Enthusiasm for the project grows rapidly among both the Mariner and elven population. The Mariners’ inspection reveals three short sections where repairs to the stonework will be necessary, but otherwise the aqueduct seems to be in a usable condition.

Five teams are created, each made up of a mixture of elves and Mariners. Two teams attend to repairs to the stonework, while the other three teams clear the vegetation and other obstructions from the water channel. A sixth team consisting solely of Mariners is responsible for getting the aqueduct’s inflow and outflow mechanisms into working order.

The project takes over a month of strenuous work before the aqueduct is repaired and water starts flowing into the cisterns. A huge celebration is organised. It’s a monumental feat reflecting the growing cooperation and friendship between the Mariners and elves. For my part, I can’t claim any credit for the achievement in getting the aqueduct repaired. A large part of my days are spent fucking Elf Maidens in heat and keeping them content. My task is made slightly easier when some of the Elf Maidens announce that they are pregnant, so are no longer driven by the urge for sex. However, they have been replaced in the queue of sex-hungry Elf Maidens by two of the adolescent elves who have now reached adulthood. And both Cassandra and Ihapera are now ready to resume sexual activity after giving birth.

Cassandra and Ikaroa have been busy researching the history of the Mariners with Marianne. In particular, for any clues as to why the Mariners are biologically incompatible with any of the Potiora races. Despite us all having common ancestors, it seems that those who engineered the Potiora races were determined to ensure racial purity among each new race. That’s presumably why female elven clones are produced whenever Thurnian men impregnate elven women. Although we’ve never put it to the test, presumably sex between an elven male and Thurnian female would generate a Thurnian clone.